How the Garden City Mosque will
look upon completion of the
expansion.

A change of heart by the
region's councillors means
Muslims in Toowoomba will
now be able to pray at their
mosque before sunrise as
required by their religion.

Toowoomba Regional Council
approved an application for
the expansion the Garden
City Mosque today, which was
the target of two arson
attacks last year.

The intervention of Cr Megan
O'Hara Sullivan, backed by
Cr James O'Shea, led to a
backflip from last week's
decision that would have
changed the start time of
prayers at the mosque from
4am to 6am.

Cr O'Hara Sullivan had voted
against the motion last week
and remained consistent
today, but couldn't explain
the change of heart of her
fellow councillors.

She said she hadn't
solicited votes for her
alternate motion or had
spoken with the city's
Muslim community.

"We need to have
consistency… around what we
approve and don't approve,"
she said.

"I believe… in freedom of
religion, you can't tell
people how to worship and
when to worship.

"There are no problems with
the hours of worship at the
moment so we didn't need to
change that condition."

Cr O'Hara Sullivan said
conditions linked to the
application would provide a
better outcome for everyone.

The approval conditions
include more car parks and
noise mitigation measures.

The expansion will see the
size of the mosque grow by
159sq m of gross floor area
and it will rise to two
storeys.

Voting against the proposal
were Cr Bill Cahill and Cr
Anne Glasheen - who had
proposed the earlier start
time last week.

Cr Glasheen said she made
the proposal after being
approached by members of the
community regarding the
early start times.

The councillor added she
wasn't unhappy with the
result of the vote.

Cr Bill Cahill said he'd
always been opposed to any
expansion of the mosque
because of possible risks to
public safety.

He said increased traffic,
pedestrian movements and
parking issues were behind
his vote against the
application.

Garden City Mosque Imam
Abdul Kader said last week
that work would begin
immediately on the rebuild
and expansion of the mosque.

Founding president of the
Islamic Society of Toowoomba
professor Shahjahan Khan
welcomed the decision.

"We had a series of meetings
with the council officials
and councillors regarding
the requirements of the
council for the development
application, and we made
sure that we met every
single requirement so that
there is no issues left to
discuss.

"I appreciate the patience
of the council officers and
thank them for guiding us
throughout the processing
period of the application.

"I am pleased that the
councillors have made the
right decision at the end
with some interesting
discussions and debate."

Mr Khan said he wanted to
thank the "peaceful and
caring" residents of
Toowoomba for their support
for the mosque.

"I am grateful to the
religious, political,
cultural and community
leaders of Toowoomba who
have been united to stood by
the mosque project.

"Many of them have direct
link with the mosque and
made submissions and taken
their time to assist the
project, and we value their
significant contribution.

10.30AM: Toowoomba Regional
Council has back-flipped on
a controversial decision
that would have prevented
Muslims praying before 6am
at the new Garden City
Mosque.

Council had attempted to
enforce rules that would not
allow prayers to start until
6am.

Cr Megan O'Hara Sullivan
called for prayers to be
allowed at 4am, which is
tradition. Cr James O'Shea
supported that call.

Crs Anne Glasheen and Bill
Cahill voted against the
amended motion.

EARLIER: Members of the
Islamic Society of Toowoomba
will find out this morning
whether they will be granted
permission to rebuild and
expand their mosque which
was burned in two arson
attacks last year.

Toowoomba Regional Council
will this morning vote on
approving the expansion of
the Garden City Mosque by
159sq m of gross floor area.

The new plans will see the
mosque rise two storeys high
and the construction of new
car parks.

At a committee meeting last
week a fiery debate was held
over the plans, with Cr Bill
Cahill opposing the
expansion and suggesting the
mosque be rebuilt in a place
other than West St.

Cr Megan O'Hara Sullivan
also voted against the
motion, arguing against a
6am start time that would be
imposed.

Cr O'Hara Sullivan was in
favour of the expansion but
did not agree with the 6am
start time.

Previously the city's
Muslims had been allowed to
pray at the mosque at 4am.

PRESENTER on The Project
became so outraged by a One
Nation politician’s claim
that host Waleed Aly
supported terrorism that he
forgot the senator’s name
last night.

The Project panellists were
gobsmacked when Malcolm
Roberts, the right hand man
of Pauline Hanson, appeared
to suggest Muslims should be
deported from Australia.

The climate sceptic senator,
who has already made a name
for himself demanding
Australia making an Oz-exit
from the “socialistic,
monolithic” United Nations,
was on the Channel 10 show
to talk about new research
that showed 49 per cent of
Australians supported
banning immigration by
Muslims.

Peter Hellier asked the
Queensland senator “how far
does it go?” and related the
question to his co-host Aly,
who is an Australian-born
Muslim of Egyptian heritage.
“Do we deport Muslims who
are living here? Should the
man who usually sits to my
left, Waleed, be deported or
relegated to breakfast TV in
Syria? What are you
suggesting?” Hellier said.

Rather than answering the
question, Senator Roberts
took aim at Aly, who was off
sick.

“No, but it would be nice if
Waleed actually condemned
and didn’t condone Islamic
terrorism,” Senator Roberts
said.

Macdonald was so riled he
forgot the politician’s
name, signing off, “Senator
… what’s his name? Thank you
very much.”

On Tuesday, Prime Minister
Malcolm Turnbull said
Australia would take in
18,750 refugees a year — a
goal it had only expected to
reach in 2018 — and a
proportion of those would
come from Central America.

Earlier, the pair had
clashed over Senator
Roberts’ claim, first raised
by One Nation leader Pauline
Hanson, that Australia was
being “swamped” by Muslims.
Macdonald asked the senator
how fast the numbers of
Muslims coming to Australia
was rising.

Senator Roberts couldn’t
reply, only saying that an
adviser was looking into it.

Labor weighs plan to invite
parliamentarians to sign up
to a set of principles
respecting diversity and
truthfulness

Labor is preparing to launch
a proposal to invite all
federal parliamentarians to
sign up to a code of race
ethics, echoing an
initiative advanced by the
ALP and the Australian
Democrats during the period
Pauline Hanson was last in
parliament.

The code is yet to clear
Labor’s caucus processes,
but the shadow attorney
general, Mark Dreyfus, has
told Guardian Australia it
would be an important
gesture for the 45th
parliament. “It would send a
message about what sort of
parliament we want to be,”
he said.

The code required
parliamentarians to sign on
to a set of principles,
including respect for
religious and cultural
diversity, supporting
tolerance and justice within
a multicultural society, and
“to speak and write in a
manner which provides
factual commentary on a
foundation of truth about
all issues being debated in
the community and the
parliament”.

A NEW survey has found
almost half of Australians
support a ban on Muslim
immigration.

The Essential poll asked
more than 1000 respondents
whether they would support
or oppose Pauline Hanson’s
proposed ban on Muslim
immigration.

Sixty per cent of Liberal
voters, 40 per cent of Labor
voters and 34 per cent of
Greens voters said they
would support the ban.

More than 40 per cent of
people who favoured this ban
said it was an “integration”
issue, saying they fear
Muslims “do not integrate
into Australian society”.
The second-highest reason
was “Terrorist threat”, at
27 per cent.

The race discrimination
commissioner, Tim
Soutphommasane, is expected
to address community
division at a forum at the
Australian National
University today.
According to speech notes
obtained by The Guardian
Australia, Soutphommasane
will say: “Some would say
that just as the Irish,
Italians, Greeks and Asians
copped ugliness, so too will
Muslims. That immigrants
must show grit and
forbearance, become part of
the mainstream, and then be
free to have a go at the
next lot who arrive.

“While we may never
eradicate racism and
bigotry, it isn’t good
enough to say its targets
must grin and bear it, or
that there’s nothing we can
do. Doing so amounts to
normalising racism, to
suggesting that it should be
tolerated.”

Gladstone city is located
550km North of Brisbane and
is home to approximately 100
Muslim families. The Muslim
community in Gladstone does
not have a dedicated Mosque
or Centre and this limits
the Islamic Society of
Gladstone (ISG) in its
efforts to provide a number
of services to the local
Muslim community.

To overcome these issues ISG
has identified a 8500m2
block of land located near
the city for the
establishment of the first
Islamic Centre in Gladstone.

As part of the Phase 1,
$300,000 is required by
mid-December 2016 to secure
the land.

The ISG will be hosting a
fund raising dinner at the
Islamic College of Brisbane,
Karawatha, on 1 October.

The tickets can be purchased
by calling Mujtaba or Salman
(see flyer for details).
Tickets will also be
available on the day.

Gosford Anglican Priest,
Father Rod Bower, has condemned
Pauline Hanson's policies at a
speech in Melbourne.

The Anglican priest whose
provocative signs have
become an internet sensation
has torn strips off Pauline
Hanson at a speech in
Melbourne, accusing the One
Nation leader of
representing a "radicalised
Christianity" that has no
place in Australia.

Father Rod Bower, from the
Gosford Anglican Church on
the NSW central coast, has
thousands of social
followers thanks to his
outspoken billboards
chastising politicians over
everything from asylum
seekers to Australia's
racial discrimination laws.

Recent messages include
"Hell exists and it's on
Nauru" and "Equality
shouldn't cost $160
million". A picture of the
anti-plebiscite message has
been liked by more than 9000
people on Facebook, and
shared more than 5700 times.

The signs have even sparked
a Facebook 'appreciation
society' with more than 4000
members from across
Australia.

Speaking at a breakfast
hosted by the Islamic
Council of Victoria on
Monday morning, the
outspoken priest said the
desire to protect children
was the hallmark of the
Christian and Muslim faiths.

The priest contrasted this
with One Nation's policies
and comments which he says
harm Muslim children and
increase the risk of
radicalisation.

"Pauline Hanson represents a
form of radicalised
Christianity that is willing
to sacrifice Muslim children
on the altar of her own
political ambitions," he
said.

"If her claim that she is
only saying what the
Australian people are
thinking, then the
Australian people have sadly
missed over 4000 years of
human social evolution."

Despite Father Bower
despairing over the
"incoherent ramblings" and
"half-truths" abundant in
politics, he remains hopeful
the overwhelming majority of
Australians will vote for
leaders whose views are more
in-line with religious
teachings of kindness and
compassion.

"I believe that deep in the
Australian soul there lies a
decency that has, in recent
times, been suppressed by an
irrational fear encouraged
by a small number of
unscrupulous people," he
said.

"We are not a people without
hope for the future."

Islamic Council of Victoria
executive director Nail
Aykan said having an
Anglican keynote speaker was
a testament to the Muslim
community's commitment to
building interfaith
relationships.

"People of goodwill will
always come together for the
betterment of our society
and humanity," he said.

As
parents, we want to give the
best to our children but how
much is too much or not
enough. Parenting is not
just about raising children
who behave well. Parenting
is also about discovering
children’s potential,
nurturing their talent, so
they become gifts to the
world. As parents and
educators, our main purpose
is to raise children and
youths who want to excel and
become the best they can be.

There’s certainly no way to
guarantee successful
parenting. Yet, with a more
positive mindset, the
correct principles and
knowledge, skills and
techniques, you are far more
likely to raise children who
are motivated, less
self-centred, concerned
about people, while you the
parent become confident and
more at peace with yourself.

If you:
Would like to nurture your
children as gifts;
Would like to see your
children going from sibling
rivalry to harmony
Have found it challenging to
motivate your teenager;

Then this 2-day workshop is
for you. You will learn, in
addition to the above, what
the Quran says about
fatherhood and motherhood,
making change happen and
raising a digital
generation. The workshop
will aim to equip parents
with positive, proactive and
practical parenting skills
and attitudes to help them
honour and fulfill the
sacred duty and
responsibility (amanah) God
has entrusted them in
raising their children as
exemplary Muslims.

This workshop is open to
fathers, mothers,
new-parents, expectant
parents, grand-parents and
carers.

Islam chose me:
Susan Carland on
religion, love
and the hijab
Modesty is not a
word that comes
up in everyday
conversation for
most
Australians. But
it is an idea
under constant
scrutiny for
Susan Carland, a
long-time Muslim
convert and an
increasingly
sought-after
public
intellectual,
beauty and wife
of the even more
visible Gold
Logie-winning TV
presenter Waleed
Aly.

Tying the laces
of her black
patent leather
shoes at the end
of a photo shoot
for Sunday Life,
she says: "For
Muslims it
always comes
back to
intention. The
more you're in
the public eye,
the more you
have to ask
yourself, 'Is my
intention
because I want
to be on the
front of a
magazine and I
want everyone to
look at me?' If
so, then, that's
problematic.

"But if your
intention is
sincerely, 'I
don't
particularly
enjoy being in
magazines but I
have the
intention of
trying to create
a more cohesive
society or a
society that has
some nuance in
this
conversation
about Islam...'
I don't think
I'm particularly
good at public
speaking, but if
people say,
'Please come and
talk to us,' I
feel uneasy
about saying no
and then
complaining
about the level
of public
conversation."

Carland and I
meet at a Sydney
photographic
studio in the
week that
controversy is
boiling over the
short-lived
burkini ban in
France, where
police were
photographed
forcing a woman
to remove her
long-sleeved top
on a beach.

The Sydney
Morning Herald

Muslim woman
perfectly shuts
down bigot who
asked her why
she was driving

Why are
you driving?
Under sharia
law in Saudi
Arabia where
Islam was
born, you
are not
allowed to
drive. The
freedom you
are enjoying
in the West
came from
Christianity,
NOT Islam.

Now, Moballeghi
could have got
angry at yet
another attempt
by a bigot to
explain her own
religion to her.

Moballeghi could
have lashed out.
She didn't.

Instead, she
delivered the
shortest, most
brutal history
lesson ever:

While I
understand
why all the
misinformation
in this
world has
got you to
this point,
it's just
not a valid
one.
Firstly,
there were
no cars 1400
years ago;
therefore
it's not
really
sharia law.
Secondly,
there are
many rights
to women
that Islam
afforded for
1400 years
well before
Christian
countries
implemented
them (in
very recent
history);
such as the
right to
work, and
the right to
a pre-nup.
It's not a
competition,
but hey you
did bring it
up. Thirdly,
Saudi may be
where Islam
was born,
but the
Islam it
practises
now is not
endorsed by
most Muslims
(who
incidentally
think the no
driving by
women is
ridiculous).
In fact the
current
monarchy
there has
its roots in
a tribe who
rebelled
against
Sunni Islam
(the main
body of
Muslims).
Why haven’t
we done
anything
about it you
ask? Well
the Saudis
are very
well
protected
you
see...and
not by
Muslims. The
creation of
the modern
day Saudi
Arabia and
its monarchy
was actually
funded and
propped up
by the
British, who
explicitly
wanted the
Wahabi
(extremist)
Islam to be
promoted
there (for
political
reasons of
course). and
despite all
their
barbarity
and all the
protests
across the
world
(including
once a week
here in
London where
there are
protests
against
Saudi Arabia
and
Britain’s
relationship
with them by
- shock
horror -
Muslims!) so
actually it
would be
great if the
"Christian
west"
country of
America and
Britain
would stop
supporting
Saudi with
arms, money
and
diplomacy...you
know all the
things that
have helped
create those
western
freedoms you
are chirping
on about
that have
not come
from the
noble
principles
of
Christianity
at all...but
from power
politics
that
endorses the
very same
warped
Islamic
thinking
that you are
criticising.
I hope you
kept up.

On Sunday, 25th September Kuraby
Mosque will be hosting the first
of a number of friendship days
with members of the wider
community. These friendship days
are an attempt to bring together
people from different cultures
and creeds, who share a desire
to co-operate through mutual
acceptance and strengthen the
richness of our society through
greater understanding

At Kuraby mosque we aim to build
bridges mutual co-operation that
seeks to dispel myths about
Muslims and forge genuine
cultural interaction between the
Muslim community and others.

In creating sessions such as
these, we allow others to know
who we are, and we them. Sharing
our experiences fosters
tolerance, acceptance and
understanding between all
communities that make up this
wonderful country of ours.

Intercultural friendship
sessions are important to
building harmony and trust in
the societies that we live.

So, if are not Muslim and have
other non-Muslim friends, then
please come along on the day.

Women are hardworking, resilient
and marvellous multi-taskers!
These women have shown that
Pakistani women are especially
exceptional because of all that
we have to overcome and yet we
are able to not only become
leaders in our fields but also
pioneer into uncharted
territories. All over the world,
and beyond.

Read on about these super
Pakistani women gathering
respect and accolades the world
over:

19. Shaan Kandawalla

Shaan is the CEO of PlayDate
Digital which makes
educational applications for
kids. She started it in 2012
after many years of
experience working at
Nickelodeon and Hasbro. Apps
produced by PlayDate feature
Hasbro brands like Play-Doh,
My Little Pony and
Transformers.

A Muslim mother in Sydney
fears her grandchildren will
end up in a concentration
camp. A Victorian father
won't tell his football team
he is Muslim so he doesn't
have to explain himself. To
be Muslim is to be judged
for everything you do, says
a Brisbane woman. An
international student living
in Melbourne says she feels
segregated in class.

What is it to be Muslim in
Australia today?

Fairfax Media asked readers
who are Muslim to speak of
their experiences and how
they explain extremism and
Islamophobia to their
children. Dozens of people
responded.

CCN publishes one response
each week:

"Our image has been
tarnished by governments"

Ibrahim Ali, Sydney,
Kuwaiti-Lebanese

I'm proud to call myself a
Muslim Australian and
appreciate what this country
has done for me. But lately
our image has been tarnished
by governments, which are
supposed to maintain the
peace. I tell my children
that these people who
protest against mosques are
scared and don't understand.
I tell them we have to be
good people and respect
everyone no matter what
their religion or race.

Ibrahim Abd al-Rahman was
born a prince in present-day
Guinea, West Africa, and
trained in the Islamic
sciences, studying in the
famous scholarly center of
Timbuktu, Ibrahim was
enslaved in his 20s by the
British and ended up in New
Orleans in the Americas.
After working to obtain his
freedom from slavery for 40
years, he was released by
the order of U.S. President
John Quincy Adams after the
Sultan of Morocco –Mulay Abd
al-Rahman ibn Hisham – had
requested his release. He
returned to Africa and died
there.

London — Britain
is divided as
never before.
The country has
turned its back
on Europe, and
its female ruler
has her sights
set on trade
with the East.
As much as this
sounds like
Britain today,
it also
describes the
country in the
16th century,
during the
golden age of
its most famous
monarch, Queen
Elizabeth I.

One of the more
surprising
aspects of
Elizabethan
England is that
its foreign and
economic policy
was driven by a
close alliance
with the Islamic
world, a fact
conveniently
ignored today by
those pushing
the populist
rhetoric of
national
sovereignty.

From the moment
of her accession
to the throne in
1558, Elizabeth
began seeking
diplomatic,
commercial and
military ties
with Muslim
rulers in Iran,
Turkey and
Morocco — and
with good
reasons. In
1570, when it
became clear
that Protestant
England would
not return to
the Catholic
faith, the pope
excommunicated
Elizabeth and
called for her
to be stripped
of her crown.
Soon, the might
of Catholic
Spain was
against her, an
invasion
imminent.
English
merchants were
prohibited from
trading with the
rich markets of
the Spanish
Netherlands.
Economic and
political
isolation
threatened to
destroy the
newly Protestant
country.

Elizabeth
responded by
reaching out to
the Islamic
world. Spain’s
only rival was
the Ottoman
Empire, ruled by
Sultan Murad
III, which
stretched from
North Africa
through Eastern
Europe to the
Indian Ocean.
The Ottomans had
been fighting
the Hapsburgs
for decades,
conquering parts
of Hungary.
Elizabeth hoped
that an alliance
with the sultan
would provide
much needed
relief from
Spanish military
aggression, and
enable her
merchants to tap
into the
lucrative
markets of the
East. For good
measure she also
reached out to
the Ottomans’
rivals, the shah
of Persia and
the ruler of
Morocco.

The trouble was
that the Muslim
empires were far
more powerful
than Elizabeth’s
little island
nation floating
in the soggy
mists off
Europe.
Elizabeth wanted
to explore new
trade alliances,
but couldn’t
afford to
finance them.
Her response was
to exploit an
obscure
commercial
innovation —
joint stock
companies —
introduced by
her sister, Mary
Tudor.

Jeh Johnson tells
American Muslims, ‘Your story is the
quintessential American story’

US:
Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh
Johnson speaks to the Islamic Society of
North America during its annual
convention in Chicago.

Homeland
Security
Secretary Jeh
Johnson
delivered an
impassioned
speech last
Saturday night
at the annual
Islamic Society
of North America
(ISNA)
conference in
Chicago, holding
forth on the
subject of
Muslim
empowerment in
America.

Many American
Muslims have
been critical of
his department
and federal law
enforcement
agencies for
what they view
as
discriminatory
surveillance and
prosecution of
American
Muslims. In his
speech, Johnson
did not speak to
surveillance
practices
directly but
acknowledged a
common
experience of
discrimination
and disrespect
among American
Muslims.

Johnson was the
first sitting
Cabinet
secretary and
the
highest-ranking
U.S. official to
address an ISNA
conference. He
told the crowd
of hundreds of
Muslim religious
and political
leaders,
activists and
professionals
that he hoped
his appearance
at the
conference
serves as a
precedent for
future
appearances by
officials of his
rank. And he
compared the
Muslim American
struggle for
recognition,
respect and
equal rights to
that of other
American
religious,
racial and
ethnic
communities. He
spoke of his
grandfather, an
accomplished
African American
sociologist who
lived and died
in the Jim Crow
South but whose
grandson is now
the secretary of
homeland
security in the
administration
of a black
president.

“Do not
despair,”
Johnson told the
crowd. “If you
know American
history, take
comfort in
learning from
it.”

GHOST
EMPIRE is a rare treasure - an utterly captivating blend of
the historical and the contemporary, realised by a master
storyteller.
In 2014, Richard Fidler and his son Joe made a journey to
Istanbul. Fired by Richard's passion for the rich history of
the dazzling Byzantine Empire - centred around the legendary
Constantinople - we are swept into some of the most
extraordinary tales in history. The clash of civilizations,
the fall of empires, the rise of Christianity, revenge,
lust, murder. Turbulent stories from the past are brought
vividly to life at the same time as a father navigates the
unfolding changes in his relationship with his son.

GHOST EMPIRE is a revelation: a beautifully written ode to a
lost civilization, and a warmly observed father-son
adventure far from home.

"One who does not read is no better than one who cannot
read."

Would you like
to see the cover of your favourite book on our book shelves
below?

An advanced
knowledge of Islam which includes a highly
developed comprehension of the theological,
jurisprudential, historical, contemporary and
spiritual aspects of Islam.

Islamic sciences
are studied from both a classical and
contemporary perspective and students graduate
with the ability to speak, write, read Arabic
religious texts and an understanding of Arabic
grammar.

1. All Islamic Event dates given above are supplied by
the Council of Imams QLD (CIQ) and are provided as a guide and are
tentative and subject to the sighting of the moon.

2. The Islamic date changes to the next day starting in
the evenings after maghrib. Therefore, exceptfor Lailatul
Mehraj,
Lailatul Bhahraat
and
Lailatul Qadr – these dates refer to the commencement of the event
starting in the evening of the corresponding day.

1. Daily Hadeeth reading From Riyadusaliheen,
After Fajar and after esha .
2. After school Madrassah for children Mon-Thu 5pm to 7pm

3. Adult Quran classes (Males) Monday and
Tuesday after esha for an hour.
4. Community engagement program every second Saturday of the
Month, interstate and overseas speakers, starts after
margib, Dinner served after esha, First program begins on
the 15 August.

5. Monthly Qiyamulail program every 1st
Friday of the month starts after esha.
6. Fortnight Sunday Breakfast program. After Fajar, short
Tafseer followed by breakfast.
7. Weekly Tafseer by Imam Uzair after esha followed by
dinner. Starts from 26 August.

For all activities, besides Adult Quran,
classes sisters and children are welcome.

Articles and
opinions appearing in this newsletter do not necessarily
reflect the opinions of the CCN Team, its Editor or its
Sponsors, particularly if they eventually turn out to be
libellous, unfounded, objectionable, obnoxious, offensive,
slanderous and/or downright distasteful.

It is the usual policy of CCN to
include from time to time, notices of events that some
readers may find interesting or relevant. Such notices are
often posted as received. Including such messages or
providing the details of such events does not necessarily
imply endorsement of the contents of these events by CCN

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